Han Shizhong was studying the musket that the Ordnance Bureau had given him at the military camp outside the city.
For Han Shizhong, muskets were more difficult to use than crossbows, or rather, he was not used to them.
However, from Han Shizhong's strategic perspective, if the musket can be further improved, it will indeed be the king of the battlefield in the future.
Just as Han Shizhong was practicing the use of muskets, someone came to the palace, and the emperor urgently summoned him to the palace.
When Han Shizhong arrived at the palace, almost all the important officials were present, including the elderly Marshal Zhong Shidao.
"Qin Hui!"
"Your subject is here!"
"I hereby appoint you as the Pacification Commissioner of Hebei, to lead the army to suppress the rebellion in Zhongshan Prefecture!"
"Your subject obeys the decree!"
"Marquis of Valor!"
"Your subject is here!"
"I hereby appoint you as the Deputy Pacification Commissioner of Hebei, leading 10,000 central troops to Zhongshan Prefecture to quell the rebellion alongside Qin Hui!"
"Your subject obeys the decree!"
Although the specifics of what happened in Zhongshan Prefecture are unknown, Han Shizhong, as a lieutenant general of the empire, is perfectly fine.
He did whatever the emperor told him to do!
Zhao Huan's face was filled with murderous intent: "Qin Hui, you deserve to die. If you let even one of them escape, I will take your head!"
Qin Hui's expression remained unchanged, but his voice was resolute: "Your Majesty, rest assured, even if I lose my life, I will not fail Your Majesty's trust in me!"
On the 28th day of the third month of the third year of the Jingkang era, Qin Hui was appointed as the Pacification Commissioner of Hebei, and Han Shizhong was appointed as the Deputy Pacification Commissioner of Hebei. They led 10,000 central troops northward to quell the rebellion.
In fact, Lin Jinfeng's arrival in Tang County, his capture of Cui Ning, and his killing of the thugs were just the beginning; forced land purchases had already occurred between Zhongshan and Hejian.
Nobody knows who's behind this!
It doesn't matter, I don't need to know everything.
For Zhao Huan, there was nothing that couldn't be solved by killing.
If 10,000 people can't solve the problem, then 100,000!
The sheer number of the Central Army troops led by Han Shizhong also indicates that Zhao Huan is about to unleash a massive massacre.
What is the strength of 10,000 Central Army soldiers?
Yue Fei's Divine Martial Army was also under the command of the Central Army. Ten thousand troops directly defeated and destroyed the country of Jiaozhi!
So, what kind of strength did 10,000 Central Army soldiers possess?
That's the power to destroy a nation!
The Emperor's meaning is clear: I am now willing to mobilize an army capable of destroying a country to quell the rebellion in Hebei!
This is truly outrageous!
April is the season when apricot blossoms bloom, poets begin to stir, and young girls on the street begin to yearn for love.
But in April of the third year of the Jingkang era, the landscape was blood red; at least in Hebei, the land was turned into a vast red wasteland, littered with corpses.
Because of the incident in Tang County, bandits and mountain brigands came out in droves this month, robbing people of their grain, looting villages, and abducting women, not even sparing infants.
On April 3, a group of two thousand soldiers and civilians in Zhongshan City mutinied. Chen Changyuan, the prefect of Zhongshan, executed Zhong Ziling, the transport commissioner of Hebei Road, and Gao Changzuo, the judicial commissioner, in the street.
Qian Zhi, the commander of the Zhongshan Xiang Army, was killed, and several important officers of the Xiang Army either betrayed or surrendered.
On this day, the city gate tower of Zhongshan was covered with human heads!
Blood dripped from under the man's neck, staining the road red.
The rebellion spread quickly, and on April 4th, a riot broke out in Hejian City as well.
Four thousand rebels have appeared in the city!
Five hundred Imperial Guards gathered three thousand soldiers and civilians and fought a war with the rebels inside the city!
That night, flames soared into the sky!
This is just the beginning; the rebellion is clearly organized and premeditated.
After the incident in Tang County, the long-planned rebellion was no longer concealed.
Those bandits, outlaws, and hooligans were quickly incorporated into the rebel army.
They began large-scale burning, killing, and looting in the prefectural capitals, county towns, and villages of Zhongshan and Hejian.
Half of Hebei is weeping!
The rain during Qingming Festival turned red!
Wild dogs by the roadside were frantically devouring corpses, and children who had lost their parents sat amidst a pile of dead bodies at the edge of the village, weeping in despair, unnoticed by anyone.
As if even the heavens could not bear to watch any longer, dark clouds covered the sky for half a month, obscuring the heavenly eye.
On April 8, Lin Jinfeng organized villagers around Tang County to repel the third wave of attacks by bandits and outlaws.
More than half of the three hundred Imperial City Guards were wounded. They had run out of arrows and crossbow bolts, and after several rounds, their swords were chipped and some were even curled up.
Food supplies are temporarily guaranteed, but this won't last long.
This riot was clearly premeditated.
The city gate of Tang County is not high, and Lin Jinfeng is stationed in Tang County.
These bandits and outlaws, who initially launched haphazard attacks, quickly retreated and have now become organized and disciplined.
Clearly, military personnel came and gathered these people together.
The situation is becoming increasingly complicated.
"I am Lu Qing, the former commander of the Xiang Army of Zhongshan Prefecture. May I ask which of you is Lin Jinfeng, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial City Guard stationed in Hebei?"
Lu Qing shouted arrogantly from below the city gate.
He was just a minor commander before, but now his official position is different. He is the military commander of the rebel army in Zhongshan Prefecture, and has been promoted two ranks!
The rebels naturally gave themselves a nice-sounding name: the Righteous Army!
What is a righteous army?
Restore righteousness and overthrow the tyrant!
Lu Qing now feels very good about himself. He has discovered that he is actually capable of serving as the commander of the military capital!
It was as if he had opened a new door to life, and he was now capable of leading thousands of troops, conquering cities and seizing strongholds, and winning battles from afar!
How wonderful!
Now, he intends to personally persuade Lin Jinfeng to surrender!
Of course, the goal wasn't to let Lin Jinfeng go, but to lure these damned Imperial Guards out and then kill them all.
Lin Jinfeng stood on the city wall, looking at Lu Qing as if he were a pitiful wretch.
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